Chapter 3: The Festival
*****
Jack felt like his binoculars had become part of his own face.
Staring out at the distant shore of land, Jack took in every feature as Task Force 21 hovered just off the coast. Tropical foliage occupied most of his view as did the few waves lapping gently at the shoreline. From their position, he couldn't see any signs of habitation.
"Jack, do you want to go any closer?" asked the lovely brunette at his side. Lt. Commander Abigail Wainwright rested her hand on his wrist as she waited for his response.
"Yes, just a little bit closer. I can't see anything but trees at this distance," said Jack. "Not too close though. We know nothing about these waters or the depth of the ocean floor. I don't want these ships getting beached accidentally."
"Aye, Jack," said Abigail with a smile as she issued the orders. The ship began to lurch forward and the waves right in front of the bow gently parted for the steel behemoth to pass through. They were nearly a mile from shore but despite the lower visibility, Jack could see each member of the bridge watching intently. Their first sighting of the lands that made up the Fourth Vector carried a certain mystery for all of them. It also made them the only people alive who had seen the Vector and could still talk about it.
Just behind the
Destiny
lurked the other ships of the task force—the light cruiser
Valiant
and the destroyer
Tiger
. They followed cautiously behind the
Destiny
, using the wake of the ship to cut the same course. Ultimately, the commanding officers of both ships were missing from their respective posts, with Luke Ravencross and Vicky Carter standing not far from Abigail. Jack wanted them present for the initial reconnaissance of land.
Jack reached over to nudge Luke. "What do you think? Doesn't look like the fire-sprouting hell from childhood stories, eh?"
Luke shrugged. "Not yet. But then again, we just got here."
As the
Destiny
drifted closer to land, Jack began to make out some of the features of the land in front of him. The small beach that seemed to go on for miles didn't look very wide, only containing a narrow strip of land no more than a few hundred feet across before the thick layer of trees took over. When they were close enough, some more features of the land in front of him became more visible. For one, Jack saw what looked like a stunning waterfall that opened right into the sea. Beyond the waterfall, the land pulled inward to contain a sheltered bay about a mile across.
"Put us a little closer to that inlet there," ordered Jack and the
Destiny
began to slip inside the marvelous, U-shaped bay. On the narrow side of the bay, the forest pulled back quite a ways from the shore showing open fields of grass.
"Looks like a perfect spot for a city," said Abigail, noticing the same spot.
"That it does. Too bad there doesn't seem to be anyone here," said Jack.
"We really haven't seen much beyond this stretch yet. Maybe we should see how big this land really is. Follow the coast for as long as we can?" she suggested.
"I like that. Let's steam just off the coast and see what we can find. I want everyone to keep their eyes on the shore. Let me know if you see anything or anyone."
"Aye, sir," came the response from the assembled officers.
For the next couple hours, the
Destiny
continued along the east coast of the land. Around midafternoon, the coast began to pull back and the task force turned southwest to follow the land. At one point, the crew spotted a broad channel heading further inland. Unsure of whether it was a river or something more, Jack made note of its position in order to come back another time. Eventually, the coast doubled back around, and soon the ships were headed north along the west side of the land.
"It appears to be an island. Unless this is a very odd-shaped peninsula," said Abigail.
"She's a lot longer than she is around," said Jack. "We steamed down the coast for two and a half hours but only along the south side for no longer than twenty-five minutes."
"The island appears to be shaped like a sausage," said Abigail with a giggle.
"You would know your way around a sausage," whispered Jack, causing her to blush.
"I never heard you complaining," she shot back.
"Nor will you!"
The journey north along the coast lasted around the same as the journey south on the other side. By the time they figured out it was indeed an island and not a peninsula, the sun was beginning to set on the other side. Along the entire way, there appeared to be no signs of habitation. Even the few natural spots where a settlement might develop remained empty. Jack considered the island to most likely be void of intelligent life, and once the sun had finally set, he gave the order for them to anchor in place just off the eastern coast.
That evening, Jack had all the division officers meet in his headquarters to decide the plan for the morning. All of them shuffled into the cabin while Jack displayed a map of the island sketched from their earlier reconnaissance.
"We'll stop here for the night. Have the sentries on their guard for most of the evening hours, and I want to know about any disturbances," said Jack. "From what we've seen, I'm not expecting much but I don't want to put our guard down just yet."
"If this is the Fourth Vector, I don't know what everyone was grumbling about," muttered Luke under his breath, earning a giggle from Vicky.
"We'll see tomorrow if there's anything more to this island. And remember, we've only explored a small portion of the Vector. There's still a whole mass of ocean we haven't touched yet," said Jack.
"What are we going to do? Do you want to explore inland?" asked Abigail.
Jack nodded. "We have to be sure even if there's nothing here. I plan on taking a platoon of Marines ashore, and we'll see if we find anything interesting."
"Maybe we can stop at that waterfall on the way back. I'm sure the crew won't object to some beach time," said Abigail with a grin.
Jack chuckled. "Only if the island is safe. Last thing you want is to be attacked when you're putting on your sunscreen."
"That depends on what kind of 'attack' it is," said Anna with a mischievous smile.
Both sisters shared a knowing look. Jack wisely ignored the comment instead of indulging them. He knew that road would lead to trouble.
"Jack, will you let me come ashore with the marines? I'd like a chance to stretch my legs on dry land," asked Luke.
Jack shook his head. "No way, not with your arm like that." Luke grunted and held his arm sling aloft. It had just been over two weeks since their recapture of the
Tiger
during the attempted mutiny. Luke had taken a bullet straight through the muscle on his forearm. Despite still being able to hold a rifle, Jack didn't want to take any chance until the man was healed.
"This damn arm," muttered Luke. "You guys get to have all the fun, and I'm here stuck on the ship."
"You're the one who had to go and get shot," said Jack with a laugh, clapping his friend on the back.
"It was a lucky shot for that bastard."
"I believe they call those million-dollar wounds," said Vicky, giggling along with the rest of the group.
"I'd give every single cent of that million dollars just to be able to see some action again," said Luke.
"Be careful what you wish for," said Jack with a chuckle. "We have this giant stretch of ocean to explore, and we have the Occitanians on shoot-to-kill status. We'll all have plenty of action before this mission is over."
"Oh, all right fine. You all have fun without me and I'll just watch over the ship," he said with a pout, sitting down in his chair.
"It can't be all that bad, Luke. Besides, I may just make it worth your while," said Kim Cross, throwing a subtle wink to the commander, which was enough to make him sit up and clear his throat.
"Well, now that we know what you two will be doing, I'd say we can get on with this mission," said Abigail with a laugh as the two of them went red in the face. Luke took a few more playful slaps to the back before attention resumed to the map in front of them.